Nonactin is a macrotetrolide natural product that Promiliad Biopharma isolates from Streptomyces fermentation. While nonactin itself has a number of uses, it can be readily converted to methyl nonactate by methanolysis (e.g., reaction with methanol and HCl). In accordance with this invention, methyl nonactate can be converted into distinct classes of antibacterial agents, namely triazoloamides and triazolocarboxylates, according to the following general reaction schemes
